perilper‧il /ˈperəl/ ●○○ noun 
They put their own lives in peril to rescue their friends.great/grave/serious peril The economy is now in grave peril. a voyage that was fraught with peril (=full of danger)2[countable usually plural] literary formal a danger or problem in a particular activity or situation: the perils posed by mountaineeringperil of the perils of the sea3do something at your peril used to say that what someone is intending to do is dangerous or could cause them problems: Politicians ignore this issue at their peril.
WORD ORIGINperil
Origin:
1200-1300 Old French, Latin periculumEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- None of us who set off on that calm September morning could have foreseen the perils that lay ahead.
- the perils of a life at sea
- But Lugar calls nuclear terror the greatest peril of our age.
- Elizabeth continued reading her latest library book, oblivious to my possible peril.
- Great perils lay before them, and some of them paid with their lives for drinking that peerless elixir.
- His playoff streak is in peril this season.
- Into this potent politicization of what remained, at heart, a medical mystery, scientists ventured at their peril.
- Mourning can have a therapeutic function that we ignore at our peril.
- Similarly, lessons from across the world show that early warning signs of conflict are ignored at our peril.
- The differences exist, and we remain ignorant of them at our peril.
Longman Language Activatordanger of death or serious harm
the possibility that someone or something will be harmed or killed: · Danger! Keep out.· I stood at the side of the road and waved my arms to warn other drivers of the danger.danger of: · The organization ran a national campaign about the dangers of cigarettes and other tobacco products.
the possibility of serious harm if you do something dangerous - use this especially when you want to say how great the possibility is: · How much risk is there with this kind of operation?· A lot of children start smoking without realizing what the risks are.risk of: · What exactly is the risk of an ordinary aircraft crashing?high/low risk: · There is a high risk of injury in contact sports such as rugby.· It is possible to get malaria in this area, but the risk is pretty low.reduce/increase the risk: · Wearing a seatbelt can reduce the risk of serious injury.risk to/for: · The disease affects cats but there is no risk to humans.carry a risk: · Many of these beaches are not clean, and they carry a high risk of viral infection for swimmers.
something that may be dangerous, cause accidents etc: · Flashing signs on the motorway warn drivers of hazards ahead.hazard of: · Despite the hazards of working 50 storeys above the ground, my grandfather loved his job.present/represent a hazard (to somebody): · Steep stairs can present a particular hazard to older people.
something that can cause danger, especially during a journey - used especially in literature: · None of us who set off on that calm September morning could have foreseen the perils that lay ahead.peril of: · the perils of a life at sea
to do something that may hurt or kill you to do something very dangerous, especially in order to help someone, when you know that you may get killed because of your action: · Every day firefighters risk their lives in the course of their duty.risk your life to do something: · She risked her life to save the drowning child.
if you do something at your own risk , you must accept that it is dangerous and that it is your own fault if you are injured or killed: · Anyone who swims in this part of the river does it at their own risk.
informal to do something very dangerous in order to help someone - use this especially when you think the action is unnecessary: · Don't do it. It's not worth risking your neck.risk your neck to do something: · "Come back!" Ned shouted. "You can't risk your neck to save a dog!"
to do something that could have a very dangerous or harmful result: · Failure to stick to the safety rules is simply playing with fire.· These men are criminals. If you get involved with them, you'll be playing with fire.
informal to put yourself in a situation in which you may get killed, especially when it is a situation which you cannot control: · The teenager took his life in his hands in trying to avoid being caught by police.· You'll be taking your life in your hands if you let Eric drive you home!
to deliberately do something that is so dangerous that you may easily get killed, especially when you do it for excitement: · When young people experiment with drugs, they're dicing with death.
formal if you warn someone that they do something at their peril , you mean that it would be very dangerous for them to do it: · Any climber who neglects these simple precautions does so at their peril.· Ignore this warning at your peril.
to be in a dangerous situation · Mr and Mrs Watkins are worried that their daughter may be in danger.be in danger of something (=be in a situation when it is possible you may be killed or injured by something dangerous) · Some of the children were in danger of starvation.somebody's life is in danger · Even a small accident in these mountains can mean that your life is in danger.be in grave/serious danger (=be in a very dangerous situation) · The ship was in grave danger of being sunk by enemy aircraft.
if someone is at risk , they are in a dangerous situation, especially because they are weak and are more likely to be harmed than other people: · Accidents in the home are extremely common, and elderly people are most at risk.be at risk from: · The vaccine is available for those who are most at risk from the flu epidemic.be at risk of (doing) something: · The hospital refused to move her, implying she was still at risk of committing suicide.
to be in a dangerous and difficult situation, especially because of an unexpected problem: · Scott said nothing, but I knew from his face that we were in trouble.be in serious trouble: · It was clear from the storm reports that the fishing boat must be in serious trouble.
to be in a dangerous situation - used especially in literature: be in great/grave peril (=be in serious danger): · It soon became clear that the ship was in grave peril.put somebody/something in peril: · Anything that slows down the operation, immediately puts the patient in peril.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY The economy is now in grave peril. a voyage that was fraught with peril (=full of danger)COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
The economy is now in grave peril. a voyage that was fraught with peril (=full of danger)· Though tantalisingly seductive, they were fraught with peril.· No matter where you begin, the road to the Final Four is fraught with peril.· That undertaking would be fraught with enormous peril too.· And the road is long and fraught with peril.· They were demonstrating that life on the Web is fraught with peril.
· It is not civil war that is the greatest peril but anarchy.· But Lugar calls nuclear terror the greatest peril of our age.
· But the yellow peril of Mrs Slocombe's hairdo caused a problem for the dynamic of the show.
VERB· Were voices from the dark yet knowing part of oneself, voices you ignored only at your peril.· He spoke with the sort of quietly threatening tone that you ignored at your peril.· Mourning can have a therapeutic function that we ignore at our peril.· Similarly, lessons from across the world show that early warning signs of conflict are ignored at our peril.· The Shuttle/Redgrove thesis states that periods have meaning, and we ignore it at our peril.· The Phillips curve was regarded as an inescapable constraint on policy action which the authorities could only ignore at their peril.· Politicians espouse it; government departments ignore it at their peril.· He ignores them at his peril.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
1[uncountable] literary or formal great danger, especially of being harmed or killedin peril- These are grave environmental warnings, which we ignore at our peril.
- He spoke with the sort of quietly threatening tone that you ignored at your peril.
- Into this potent politicization of what remained, at heart, a medical mystery, scientists ventured at their peril.
- Kings neglected the sea at their peril.
- Mess with us at your peril.
- More than a million fled abroad, often at their peril.
- Some people say that lurking in its depths is a fish so dangerous that oarsmen venture out at their peril.
- Those who cross him do so at their peril.
- Yet it is also one of the most popular programs, and politicians have made changes to it at their peril.
They put their own lives in peril to rescue their friends.great/grave/serious peril The economy is now in grave peril. a voyage that was fraught with peril (=full of danger)2[countable usually plural] literary formal a danger or problem in a particular activity or situation: the perils posed by mountaineeringperil of the perils of the sea3do something at your peril used to say that what someone is intending to do is dangerous or could cause them problems: Politicians ignore this issue at their peril.